Running After Who Is Running After Something

He lives three houses away from ours. He might be in his late twenties or early thirties, am not sure of his age. Funny fellow of human. He doesn’t quiet have that height they call average and not the type that you might call eye catching, heading turning and that must have been reason he is into type of career he is in. Ex-officio they call him.

His work is to observe and report and from look of things, he had been at the informant job for long without many paying attention to him then few years ago, a man returned from abroad, whatever problems the man has with the authorities, no one knew till Sunny, that is what they call the informant went as usual on work on him. Only that the guy himself seems to have more knowledge of that field more than the officers themselves. Through him, our neighbor was found out to be an informant, but you know, with exposure of such nature and the dangers inherent in it, authorities has to do something to protect their asset and that is exactly what happened to Sunny.

They came out with rewards knowing fully well that money entices and when the economy is nothing to write home about like it’s in the country these days, many, the rich and poor always throws caution to the winds, adorn the garment of righteousness as excuse in search of golden fleece.

Ratting on people is a secret thing, but monetary reward turned the whole thing into a kind of reality TV show. Every Tom, Theresa, Jerry and Janet went to work and the culprit at each close of each day is always the returnee. Want to be in the good book of people with the rewards, do their bidding. 

Some were joining forces like people forming cooperative society, the type local crude implement brandishing farmers form here. They all had dreams of millions in their kitty running around their heads like craze. 

Some turned into what they call “one hit” that is local medicine or rather local voodoo they carry around in their pockets claiming that it was ancient gift from their ancestors passed down to few that passed the test. These group will start bringing images no one knows how they conjure up and it always involve the guy from abroad and I think they call him Ken or Kenny something like that. People will always be awake waiting for the shows from ‘one hit' group on Kenny whom seems to be wondering If his people is all these backwards or is it just poverty at work on them. His I-don't-care attitude was excuse most of them used in entering the rewards game.

The officers seems to have played it smart, they initially wanted to save their informant from wrenching with that idea of reward, they never anticipated that even the educated and the religious will fall head over into the reward thing, they thanked their god if they had any outside gun, harassments and money. They quickly started putting those they believed to be sound enough more than their Sunny on line as permanent informers and Sunny is not as crazy or empty as they had thought him to believe be. 

He studied the situation, went to work on how to reclaim what he believed should be his by ex officio whatever that one means. “Virtue of my being ex official” of this craft, I stand to be listened to more than any of this grabbers. That was his popular line that he became known as ex officio. 

Still, the officers listened to him less and less to his annoyance. then he got up one dull morning, knell down for the first time in four years, faced upwards, hands raised towards that direction and murmured: “Jesu!, Jesu!!, it’s time” His prayers ended, he sat on the edge of his bed with his face In his palms for about thirty minute trying to shake off the dread which have been invading him since three months, then got up and went his way. From that day, he began trying to shift the authority the officers had on the “Kenny matters” as they code named the operation. He had contacted local chief, the pastors, priest and others he knew has influence on the people secretly opened his mouth to them on the issue and how officers were handling it and how they are enriching themselves on it. Greediness is one thing humans don’t over grown in age or over educate in education. It’s always one step ahead of the humans that comes after it. The priest, pastors, local chiefs and their hangers-on went to work. Sunny became their number one secret face, secret ears and mouth. Right hand man and left hand man. 

He waited for influence of those heavy weights to bear on the officers and pretended he knows no fart about it all. Officers talk recklessly in his presence, chiefs and the religious gentlemen all vibrate when he is in their midst and that is how he within two weeks started controlling four of those managing the investigation despite his dumbbell head and their egghead head.

Decisions from all of them had his fifty percent inputs on then all. He could not believe what he was in charge off. He took care that none knew his true relationship with the other, when they see him in the company of the another, he will give them impression of recently penetrating them and gathering information for those that saw him.

 When you don’t know what is being engineered, you will be used to engineer that thing. That was game going on for almost a year since Kenny came back. The people living in that street, and surrounding, their family and personal economies that were limping before the reward was announced, started crawling and Sunny economy that was in coma started showing resuscitation signs. 

Before some finally started paying closer attention Sunny has his shops full once again, started tucking in, waving to those calling him with raised hand while his face is in opposite direction. He started wearing glasses eyeing those talking with him from the top of the glasses. It took those fashion changes for them to started seeing that the dumbbell have changed even inwards. 

They became more interested in his goings and comings. Kenny was forgotten, they turned to Sunny following him around like ghost. A week later, they captured information enough on him that he was made their number one enemy. 

“imagine the insult from that illiterate idiot. How long had he been playing us? I can't believe I am this empty” their anger is on high.

From day one he met the local chief and told him about how the people of the streets under his control should be paying security levies for what he heard Kenny was planning was too heinous to be repeated. Vigilante group needed to be formed in all the street. Prevention is better than cure. The local chief had eyed him and said: “why can't we just ask that Kenny guy to leave our area?”

He had eyed the chief and smiled inwardly. “So much for education. With these guys as yardstick, I prefer to remain as I am” he murmured to himself.

“ you see chief, it is against penal code and universal human rights. You can not ask a citizen no court have ever proven guilty or any thing of such to pack away from anywhere for no reason, it’s his constitutional rights” he spied the chief his jaw hanged open when he was vibrating what he don't know if they are true or not. His experience have told him that once you start quoting sections and sub sections, respect always soars like eagle. 

That was how the chief had levied security due on people and Sunny was smart enough to decline when asked to head them but prefers to count it for chief before banking and distributing to various vigilantes. Of course, things always miss road smartly and end up in Sunny's pocket.

He knew that the people after rewards are getting poorer from neglecting their business and families. Getting angrier from being bad mouthed by wives that doesn’t realize the relationship between public rewards and personal poverty. How they encourage their husbands to go after the rewards and yet don't that human brains works in wonderful ways. What you pay closer attention to, pays closer attention to you.

When news started spreading that it’s Sunny feeding fat from their security contributions, many wanted to be sure before taking action. One or two guys, sunny can handle but two hundreds, nay. It’s time to change city. Officers, religious guys, and local chief, among the multitude of angry signal waiting masses running after rewards no politician ever approved, rewards that doesn’t exist. He faced south.